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Tony Lyza

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Testbed & Visualization Support (TVS)

Job Title:Physical Scientist

Affiliation:Federal

Email:Email hidden; Javascript is required.

Phone:(405) 325-6773

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Tony is the Federal Team Lead of the Testbed and Visualization Support (TVS) Team within the Innovations in Modeling, Predictions, Applications, Communication, & Testbeds (IMPACT) Branch of NSSL.  He serves as Executive Officer of the NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed, where he is responsible for providing project and infrastructure oversight and communicating short- and long-term testbed goals to leadership and other research and scientific communities. Previously, he served as the Physical Sciences Coordinator for the VORTEX-USA program, where he assisted the Federal program coordinator with program administration, led the development of physical science priorities within the program, and served as the coordinating scientist for the Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms (PERiLS) field campaign (2022–2023). Tony also conducts research with a broad focus on observational analyses of severe convective storms and their attendant environments. His most recent research efforts have focused on improving tornado-intensity estimation methods, observational analysis of storm-induced modifications to severe weather environments, and improving understanding of supercell evolutionary paths.

Education
Degree (Ph.D, M.S, B.A, etc.) Major Subject University or College Name Year (YYYY) (optional)
Ph.D. Atmospheric Science University of Alabama in Huntsville 2019
M.S. Atmospheric Science University of Alabama in Huntsville 2015
B.S. Meteorology Valparaiso University 2012
Research Interests
  • Tornado and wind damage analysis and classification
  • Radar observational analysis of severe storms and tornadoes
  • Near-storm environmental evolution and heterogeneity
Professional Activities
  • Affiliate Assistant Professor, School of Meteorology, University of Oklahoma
  • Associate Member, ANSI/ASCE/SEI/AMS 83 Standard Committee on Estimating Wind Speeds in Tornadoes and Other Windstorms - EF Scale Method Subcommittee Member
  • Member, ANSI/ANS 2.3 Standard for Estimating Tornado, Hurricane, and Extreme Straight Line Wind Characteristics at Nuclear Facility Sites Committee
  • Member, National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP) Windstorm Working Group (WWG)
  • Member, AMS Scientific and Technological Activities Commission - Committee on Severe Local Storms (SLS STAC)
  • Associate Editor, Monthly Weather Review
  • Associate Editor, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology
Selected Publications

Lyza, A. W., and Coauthors, 2026: The NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed: FY2025 Activities Summary. NOAA Technical Report, 15 pp., https://doi.org/10.25923/65kx-0a28.

Loken, E. D., and Coauthors, 2026: The 2023 and 2024 Hazardous Weather Testbed Watch-to-Warning Experiments: Advancing Severe Weather Prediction and Communication Between Watches and Warnings. NOAA Technical Report, 57 pp., https://doi.org/10.25923/fcqx-1009.

Lyza, A. W., 2025: On the consistency between the Fujita and Enhanced Fujita Scales and implications for the United States tornado climatology. Mon. Wea. Rev., 153 (10), 2107–2119, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-24-0265.1.

Lyza, A. W., H. E. Brooks, and M. J. Krocak, 2025: Where have the EF5s gone? A closer look at the “drought” of the most violent tornadoes in the United States. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 106 (8), E1708–E1716, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0066.1.

Kuster, C. M., and Coauthors, 2025: Results from the Hazardous Weather Testbed: What do Forecasters Think About Dual-Polarization Phased Array Radar? NOAA Technical Report, 40 pp., https://doi.org/10.25923/p7m5-gm39.

Lyza, A. W., and Coauthors, 2025: The NOAA Hazardous Weather Testbed Experimental Warning Program: 2024 Experiment Summary. NOAA Technical Report, 84 pp., https://doi.org/10.25923/hq4k-bw52.

Kosiba, K. A., and Coauthors, 2024: The Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms (PERiLS) Project. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 105 (10), E1768–E1799, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0064.1.

Flournoy, M. D., A. W. Lyza, A. R. Wade, and J. Fischer, 2024: Observed relationships between supercell mesocyclone intensity and evolution, background environmental characteristics, and cell mergers. Mon. Wea. Rev., 152, 8, 1945-1962, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-23-0199.1.

Lyza, A. W., M. D. Flournoy, and A. A. Alford, 2024: Comparison of tornado damage characteristics to low-altitude WSR-88D radar observations and implications for tornado intensity estimation. Mon. Wea. Rev., 152, 8, 1689-1710, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-23-0242.1.

Wade, A. R., I. L. Jirak, and A. W. Lyza, 2023: Regional and seasonal biases in convection-allowing model forecasts of near-surface temperature and moisture. Wea. Forecasting, 38, 12, 2415–2426, doi:10.1175/WAF-D-23-0120.1.

Fischer, J., M. D. Flournoy, and A. W. Lyza, 2023: Comments on “A climatology of cell mergers with supercells and their association with mesocyclone evolution” and “The influence of cell mergers on supercell characteristics and tornado evolution on 27–28 April 2011”. Mon. Wea. Rev., 151, 9, 2541–2545, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-23-0120.1.

Lyza, A. W., and M. D. Flournoy, 2023: The Influence of Cell Mergers on Supercell Characteristics and Tornado Evolution on 27–28 April 2011. Mon. Wea. Rev., 151, 6, 1551–1569, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-22-0189.1.

Lyza, A. W., M. D. Flournoy, and E. N. Rasmussen, 2022: Observed characteristics of the tornadic supercells of 27–28 April 2011 in the Southeast United States. Mon. Wea. Rev., 150, 11, 2883–2910, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-21-0274.1.

Lyza, A. W., B. T. Goudeau, and K. R. Knupp, 2022: Damage analysis and close-range radar observations of the 13 April 2019 Greenwood Springs, Mississippi, tornado during VORTEX-SE Meso18-19. Mon. Wea. Rev., 150, 7, 1873–1893, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-21-0281.1.

Flournoy, M. D., A. W. Lyza, M. A. Satrio, M. R. Diedrichsen, M. C. Coniglio, and S. Waugh, 2022: A climatology of cell mergers with supercells and their association with mesocyclone evolution. Mon. Wea. Rev., 150, 451–461, doi:10.1175/MWR-D-21-0204.1.

Lyza, A. W., T. A. Murphy, B. T. Goudeau, P. T. Pangle, K. R. Knupp, and R. A. Wade, 2020: Observed near-storm environment variations across the southern Cumberland Plateau system in northeastern Alabama. Mon. Wea. Rev., 148, 1465–1482, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-19-0190.1.

Lyza, A. W., R. Castro, E. Lenning, M. T. Friedlein, B. S. Borchardt, A. W. Clayton, and K. R. Knupp, 2019: A multi-platform reanalysis of the Kankakee Valley tornado cluster on 30 June 2014. Electron. J. Severe Storms Meteor., 14 (3), 1–64, https://doi.org/10.55599/ejssm.v14i3.73.

Lyza, A. W., and K. R. Knupp, 2018: A background investigation of tornado activity across the southern Cumberland Plateau terrain system of northeastern Alabama. Mon. Wea. Rev., 146, 4261–4278, https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-18-0300.1.

Lyza, A. W., A. W. Clayton, K. R. Knupp, E. Lenning, M. T. Friedlein, R. L. Castro, and E. S. Bentley, 2017: Analysis of mesovortex characteristics, behavior, and interactions during the second 30 June-1 July 2014 Midwestern derecho event. Electron. J. Severe Storms Meteor., 12 (2), 1–33, https://doi.org/10.55599/ejssm.v12i2.67.